Introduction
Ficar means “to stay”, and this page covers exactly one thing: ficar in the present tense. The present is the tense Portuguese speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for ficar, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the pretérito perfeito, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about ficar in the present. It means to stay and to remain somewhere, and it is also the verb for becoming something and for where something is located in a house or a city. It is completely regular apart from its spelling: the -car stem keeps its hard c by writing qu before e and i, so the eu form is fico and the subjunctive is fique. Do not confuse it with estar, which is the verb for temporary location. For example: “Ele fica em casa todos os dias.” — “He stays at home.” Everything on this page uses the forms of ficar exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.
Ficar in the Present — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | fico |
| tu | ficas |
| ele/ela | fica |
| nós | ficamos |
| vós | ficais |
| eles/elas | ficam |
| Gerund: ficando · Past participle: ficado | |
| The gerund is ficando, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Ficando em casa, aprendo muito.” — “While staying at home, I learn a lot.” The past participle is ficado, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho ficado is the pretérito perfeito composto, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how ficar is used. | |
| Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ficar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. |
How the present of ficar is formed
The present tense of ficar has six forms: eu fico, tu ficas, ele fica, nós ficamos, vós ficais, eles ficam. Say them in order — eu, tu, ele, nós, vós, eles — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. ficar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings — -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am for -ar verbs; -o, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -em for -er verbs; and -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em for -ir verbs — so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb. Because the stem keeps its hard sound by writing qu or gu before e and i, the eu form is fico and the subjunctive eu form is fique.
Two things about the present of ficar are worth noticing. First, the nós and vós forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its nós and vós forms from the same stem, so learning ficamos and ficais pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Portuguese uses where English would often use the continuous form, so fico can mean both “I stay” and “I am staying” — context tells the listener which one you mean.
Because ficar is regular in the present, the six forms follow the standard -ar endings exactly. Once you know the pattern for one regular -ar verb, you know it for all of them — only the stem changes. That is why the present of a regular verb is the cheapest tense to learn in the whole language.
When to use the present of ficar
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use ficar in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Habits and routines
The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and ficar is no exception. Use time expressions such as todos os dias, sempre or todas as semanas to make the routine explicit. Example: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” — “I stay at home.”
2. General truths
Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about ficar does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Ele fica em casa todos os dias.” — “He stays at home.”
3. What is happening right now
The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Portuguese often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with ficar in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Nós ficamos em casa todos os dias.” — “We stay at home.”
4. Scheduled future events
Portuguese uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu ficas em casa todos os dias.” — “You stay at home.”
5. Narration and commentary
In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and ficar in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Eles ficam em casa todos os dias.” — “They stay at home.”
Present Tense vs Pretérito Perfeito: how to choose
The closest tense to the present is the pretérito perfeito, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the pretérito perfeito describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as todos os dias or sempre, while the pretérito perfeito sentences use ontem or na semana passada. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.
- Present Tense: “Ele fica em casa todos os dias.” — “He stays at home”
- Pretérito Perfeito: “Ele ficou em casa ontem.” — “He stayed at home”
- The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event. Todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.
- Present Tense: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” — “I stay at home”
- Pretérito Perfeito: “Eu fiquei em casa ontem.” — “I stayed at home”
- The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event. Todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.
- Present Tense: “Tu ficas em casa todos os dias.” — “You stay at home”
- Pretérito Perfeito: “Tu ficaste em casa ontem.” — “You stayed at home”
- The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event. Todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.
Example sentences: ficar in the present
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
- “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” — “I stay at home”
- “Tu ficas em casa todos os dias.” — “You stay at home”
- “Ele fica em casa todos os dias.” — “He stays at home”
- “Nós ficamos em casa todos os dias.” — “We stay at home”
- “Vós ficais em casa todos os dias.” — “You stay at home”
- “Eles ficam em casa todos os dias.” — “They stay at home”
- “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” — “I stay at home”
- “Ele fica em casa todos os dias.” — “He stays at home”
Common mistakes
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
- Wrong: “Eu ficas em casa.” Right: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” Why: The eu form is fico, not ficas. ficas is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
- Wrong: “Nós fico em casa.” Right: “Nós ficamos em casa todos os dias.” Why: Nós needs the nós form ficamos. fico belongs with eu only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
- Wrong: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias ontem.” Right: “Eu fiquei em casa ontem.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito fiquei for a finished action yesterday.
- Wrong: “Eu ficar em casa.” Right: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” Why: The infinitive ficar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated form fico.
Quiz: test yourself
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
What is the eu form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) ficas
- B) fico
- C) fica
- D) ficamos
What is the tu form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) fico
- B) fica
- C) ficas
- D) ficamos
What is the ele/ela form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) fico
- B) ficas
- C) ficamos
- D) fica
What is the nós form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) ficamos
- B) fico
- C) ficas
- D) fica
What is the vós form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) fico
- B) ficais
- C) ficas
- D) fica
What is the eles/elas form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) fico
- B) ficas
- C) ficam
- D) fica
What is the eu form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) ficas
- B) fica
- C) ficamos
- D) fico
What is the tu form of ficar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) ficas
- B) fico
- C) fica
- D) ficamos
Answer key
- B) fico — the correct form is fico. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ficas — the correct form is ficas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) fica — the correct form is fica. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ficamos — the correct form is ficamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ficais — the correct form is ficais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ficam — the correct form is ficam. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) fico — the correct form is fico. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ficas — the correct form is ficas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does ficar mean in English?
ficar means “to stay”. It is a regular -ar verb.
How is the present tense of ficar formed?
The six present forms are: eu fico, tu ficas, ele fica, nós ficamos, vós ficais, eles ficam. ficar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.
When do I use the present instead of the pretérito perfeito?
Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the pretérito perfeito for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.
What are the gerund and past participle of ficar?
The gerund is ficando and the past participle is ficado.
Related pages
- ficar conjugation — full tables
- ficar examples and quiz
- Portuguese present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Portuguese.
- Estar conjugation — another Portuguese verb in this batch.
- Dar conjugation — another Portuguese verb in this batch.
- Portuguese verbs — the full hub of Portuguese conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise ficar with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise ficar with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise ficar with the interactive tool.